There‚Äôs a chance Syracuse is back in the hunt for David “Boom” Perkins, who had previously committed to Notre Dame. The running back from South Bend, IN seemed genuinely interested in the Orange before choosing his hometown team. ESPN has reported that South Bend athlete David ‚ÄúBoom‚Äù Perkins is not¬†‚Äútotally done with the recruiting process despite being committed to Notre Dame‚Äù (hat tip to Fizz commenter Carlton).
‚Äú‚ÄòI kind of think it’s a commitment, but you only get to do this once,‚Äô said Perkins.‚Äù
Based on the way Boom announced his decision, his hesitancy to completely commit to the Irish is surprising. He held a press conference at his high school in front of many reporters and friends, and at that point his decision seemed very final.
Beyond that, though, it would make sense that Perkins is having second thoughts. After declaring Syracuse as the front-runner for some time, Perkins changed his mind extremely quickly in early June. He delivered his commitment to the Irish shortly after Brian Kelly offered him, which felt odd considering how much he liked Syracuse.
Last month, Scout.com’s Allen Trieu told The Fizz how close Boom was to choosing Orange.
“The only thing that had kept him from [committing to SU] was actually getting to meet some of the coaching staff in person. I know he wanted to commit to the head coach in person and Syracuse being as far away as it is from South Bend, he couldn’t get out there.”
Apparently, Perkins and his family were having so much trouble getting to CNY for a visit that it made them rethink whether he should attend a school that far from home. With his high school coach, Antwon Jones, being Notre Dame alum, it’s easy to see how Boom was quickly convinced to go with the Irish.
Now that it’s deeper into the summer, maybe the Syracuse coaches can capitalize off Perkins not necessarily being in such close contact with Jones. The recruit has always had an excellent relationship with the SU staff, as Jones told The Fizz back in June.
“One of the [reasons why Syracuse sticks out] I think is that Coach Wheatley has established a great rapport with him.”
Wheatley and the rest of the coaches need to rekindle their relationship with Perkins and push for him to finally visit Syracuse. Maybe he’ll remember why he put SU in the lead in the first place.
Posted: Andrew Kanell
